The COVID-19 pandemic is a health and humanity crisis. But with the economic shutdown accompanying the stay-at-home and social distancing advisories and orders, it has quickly become a financial and economic crisis as well.
Many people are facing financial loss, fear and uncertainty trying to cope and survive however long they may be furloughed, laid off, have their pay cut or lost, unable to work because of illness, or have their side gigs and small businesses shut down. Others relying on savings and investments are finding those have gone through a roller coaster of ups and downs to shake their comfort and confidence.
The federal government’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act or CARES Act, promises loans to businesses with incentives for small businesses to retain employees on their payroll, economic impact payments to many individuals and families, expansion to unemployment eligibility and supplementary unemployment payments, suspending required minimum distributions from retirement accounts, 6 months forbearance of federal student loans, federal mortgage forbearance, and a number of other things.
In addition, there have been other forms of relief offered by federal, state, and local governments, by utility companies, by banks, credit unions and credit card companies.
Here are a few sources of information, tools, and resources available to help you find ways to combat the very real financial challenges both during the current COVID-19 crisis and beyond when facing money troubles in hard times. Our COVID-19 page lists sites that can help with personal finances, taxes, student loans, social security, unemployment, housing, etc., and for even more information, resources, and programs to help you on working with your money during any challenging financial time, please explore these pages and our reading list of suggested titles.
- Los Angeles Public Library’s Jobs, Money and Small Business
- LA Saves
- Los Angeles County Department of Consumer & Business Affairs Center for Financial Empowerment
- Universal Class: Personal Finance 101: How to Manage Your Money
- Universal Class: Understanding and Managing Your Personal Credit
- Universal Class: Debt Reduction
- Gale Courses: Personal Finance
- Gale Courses: Where Does All My Money Go?
Suggested Reading
